The Celtic Motherhood Knot—A symbol of love

Celtic Motherhood Knot. Artwork done by Diane M. Lilly, 2021.

​So I Googled Celtic Mother’s Knot…thinking I would find THE Celtic symbol, break it down into its components, and do a quick sketch or two and explain my process…Not so easy! Turns out there are many variations of mother’s knots, some more modern than others. Some knots are more artistic expression than actual Celtic symbolism, but symbolism can be in the eye of the beholder anyway. So long as the symbol expresses the appropriate feeling and meaning, it’s all good. ​

Anyway, I found myself having to make some tough decisions…Do I do quick sketches of a few of them? Or do I do one or two really good sketches? Do I do a really good rendering of just one style? And if so, which style? Ultimately, my decision came down to how much time I realistically had to devote to this project, which—unfortunately—is not enough to explore all of those options! So I’ve decided to talk about the symbolism of a Celtic Motherhood Knot, then break down one of the most “authentic” styles (if I can use that term), and finally show you a finished stylized rendering of one of these beautiful knot work patterns.


The symbolism behind the Celtic Motherhood Knot

To start with, there are a wide number designs that are called “mother’s knot”, “motherhood knot”, “mother and daughter knot”, and “mother and son knot”. They all involve a design that includes a heart, an embrace, or some combination of the two. At the core of their designs is the concept of the unbreakable and eternal bond and love between a mother and child. From a Christian standpoint, the knots could represent the Madonna and child, and many versions of the knot have a Trinity knot as the basis upon which the rest of the design is built. From an ancient Irish Celtic world view, the basic idea behind a mother’s knot (or motherhood knot) may represent the three cycles of a woman’s life—maiden, mother, and crone. It’s hard to really know for sure where the Celtic symbolism ends and the Christian symbolism begins, as these two beliefs became intertwined long ago and much of the original meanings have been lost.

​So for today’s design project, I have chosen what I think may be one of the more traditional Celtic Motherhood Knot styles, which consists of two hearts, stacked one atop the other, and three dots. Each dot represents one child, so I drew three dots, one for each of my boys.  
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Let’s break it down…

Start by drawing the basic lines for the design, either freehand or using guides. I chose to use a few guides because I was going for a cleaner look, but this design could just as easily be drawn completely freehand. A Motherhood Knot looks more complicated than it actually is…It really just consists of two hearts overlapping and each heart has an elliptical loop down its center. The loop from the bottom heart can be just a bit longer, if that’s the style you want.
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Basic line drawing for Motherhood knot.

You then start to draw new lines on either side of the basic lines you’ve just drawn. Do this for all of the lines in the drawing, then go back and erase (yes, erase!) the original line. 

​Now that your basic design is in place, you have to pick one spot where the lines of your thread would overlap and make a decision…Which line goes under and which goes over? Once you make a decision, erase the lines that don’t need to be there anymore so that your thread can overlap. Now follow that thread to the next intersection and do the opposite. In other words, if your thread went OVER the last line, it will go UNDER at this intersection. And you just follow the lines until every intersection has an over-under. Trace your design again with your finger to make sure that there are no mistakes.

Under-over threads for Motherhood knot.

The next step is where the fun begins! You can do anything you want from here on out to stylize this design the way you wish. You can change the thickness of the lines or add flair to certain sections of the threads (like I did with my elongated points). And this is also where you may want to start thinking about final details, like where to put dots and where to add other artistic details to your design. The sky is literally the limit!
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Dots added for children in Motherhood knot design.

And the final piece…

Add in all the final details and sharpen everything up where you think the lines need to be darker or crisper. You may want to bring in colored pencils or markers or paints to bring this design to life. 

In the sketch below, I decided to keep my design in pencil, but added shading and texture to give the knot a lift and a decorative vine to give a more finished look. I’m thinking I may revisit this drawing in the future as a focal point of a wood burning project, perhaps one of my decorative plates! 
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Finished pencil design of Celtic Motherhood Knot. Artwork done by Diane M. Lilly, 2021.

So what do ya think? Do you have a favorite style of Celtic Mother’s Knot? Feel free to share in the comments below!

And you can click here and here to go to previous blog posts with tutorials for a couple of different knots you can practice!


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Related blog posts you may want to read:
Celtic Tree of Life
A foray into customizable artwork
Celtic Knot tutorial, part 1
Celtic Knot tutorial, part 2
​Celebrating Irish Celtic Art for St. Patrick's Day
Getting out of my way